David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) claimed victory on the Tour du Jura Cycliste with a rasping assault within the remaining kilometre of the summit end at Mont Poupet. It was the Frenchman’s first win since he landed a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné virtually two years in the past.
The race was all the time more likely to come all the way down to a skirmish on the brief, sharp climb to the end, and Gaudu proved the strongest on the finish of a spirited contest on Mont Poupet. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) made a late surge to say second place, whereas Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), so beneficiant in his efforts, needed to accept third.
“It’s been a very long time since I raised my arms,” Gaudu stated afterwards. “This victory means so much. I have been struggling just about on a regular basis for nearly a 12 months now. However now the wheel appear to be turning for me and for the workforce, so it is actually nice.”
The race was animated by an early 14-man break, however with Cofidis, Groupama-FDJ and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA among the many groups controlling the peloton, there was by no means any actual prospect of the escapees defying the chances right here.
Marco Frigo (Israel Premier Tech) and Adne Holder (Uno-X) carried a lead of a minute into the ultimate 15km. Nonetheless, the hole shrank steadily on the succession of undulations that led to the underside of the climb correct, the place Kenny Elissonde took up the reins for Cofidis.
Elissonde’s efforts surprisingly put strain on Lenny Martinez, such a formidable winner at Traditional Grand Besançon Doubs on Friday. The 20-year-old misplaced contact with the entrance of the race with a shade over 3.5km to go right here, although he recovered sufficiently to take eleventh place.
Gaudu sprang into motion shortly after his younger teammate was dropped, accelerating fiercely with 3.4km to go, catching and passing the remaining escapees. Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) was instantly on his wheel, with Martin and Felix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R) bridging up quickly afterwards.
Gall was the following favorite to play his hand, attacking with 3km remaining. Behind, Gaudu now seemed in some problem, and as a substitute it was Cepeda who managed to combat his approach again as much as Gall’s wheel.
Martin had seemed comparatively comfy on the climb, nevertheless, and the Frenchman now set about reeling in Gall and Cepeda. A lull adopted his arrival on the entrance, which allowed Gaudu, Cristian Rodriguez (Arkea-B&B Accommodations) and Hurt Vanhoucke (Lotto-Dstny) to regain contact with 2km go.
Martin sensed his alternative shortly afterwards, and his sharp acceleration noticed the race tackle a brand new complexion. The group of favourites splintered as they gave chase, with Gaudu and Cepeda battling their approach as much as Martin a number of hundred metres later.
That trio reached the ultimate kilometre collectively on the head of the race earlier than Gaudu launched what proved to be the profitable assault shortly after passing beneath the flamme rouge.
The steepest pitches of Mont Poupet come within the remaining kilometre and Gaudu betrayed apparent indicators of struggling, the place Cepeda and Martin virtually closed the hole to inside touching distance.
On the ultimate ramps, nevertheless, Gaudu summoned up one other mammoth effort that carried him definitively clear. By the point the highway flattened out within the remaining 300m, he may already sense he was on the cusp of his first win of 2024.
Whereas Gaudu sat as much as rejoice his triumph, the chasers scrambled for the rostrum spots. Jegat’s late effort carried him to second, 4 seconds down, whereas Martin took third place forward of Gall and Vanhoucke.
“Our subsequent goal is to be in good condition for the Ardennes,” Gaudu stated. “We’ll have a great group there and we’ll be going there with confidence. I am actually wanting ahead to the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège after which the Tour de Romandie. After that, we’ll have time to consider the Tour de France.”
Outcomes
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